Definitions of plate:

• noun:   dish on which food is served or from which food is eaten
• noun:   a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)
• noun:   a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic
• noun:   a shallow receptacle for collection in church
• noun:   structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage
• noun:   a full-page illustration (usually on slick paper)
• noun:   a flat sheet of metal or glass on which a photographic image can be recorded
• noun:   the positively charged electrode in a vacuum tube
• noun:   any flat platelike body structure or part
• noun:   a main course served on a plate

  Example: "A vegetable plate"

• noun:   the thin under portion of the forequarter
• noun:   a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly
• noun:   the quantity contained in a plate
• noun:   the position on a baseball team of the player who is stationed behind home plate and who catches the balls that the pitcher throws

  Example: "He plays behind the plate"

• noun:   a dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth
• noun:   (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
• verb:   coat with a layer of metal

  Example: "Plate spoons with silver"

• name:  A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #23490)